The Bishop of Southwark ( ) is the ordinary of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Diocese of Southwark in the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

.Diocese of Southwark: History
. Retrieved on 21 October 2013.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . Until 1877, Southwark had been part of the Diocese of Winchester when it was transferred to the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signa ...

. In 1891, the

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was fo ...

appointed

Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman-Biggs (2 February 1845 – 14 April 1922), until 1898 known as Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman, was an influential Church of England clergyman who served as the only Bishop of Southwark to be a suffragan bishop (in the Dioce ...

the only suffragan bishop of Southwark and an ancient parish church in Southwark was restored to become a

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

in 1897, which later became

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark ...

. The bishop's residence is Bishop's House,

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. On 1 May 1905, the Diocese of Southwark was created and covers

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and east

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, broadly defined. The Bishop of Southwark is assisted by the suffragan bishops of Croydon, of Kingston and of Woolwich who each oversee an episcopal area of the diocese. The current and previous bishops have been cited in canonical practice in its interpretation as "

valid but irregular Valid but irregular is a term used in Christian churches which have a concept of Holy Orders, such as the Anglican churches, to sacramental actions by someone who is able, due to their already being ordained to the appropriate orders, to carry out ...

" of three ordinations of candidates ordained abroad, associated with a conservative evangelical church-forming group, the Anglican Mission in England, having expressed, in the church's view, extreme views on a complex subject. The current bishop is

Christopher Chessun Christopher Thomas James Chessun (born 5 August 1956) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2011, he has been Bishop of Southwark in the Church of England. Early life and education Chessun is a twin and was born on 5 August 1956. He was educated ...

, the 10th Bishop of Southwark, who signs ''+Christopher Southwark''. He had previously been the area Bishop of Woolwich (2005–2011). When the post-holder ranks among the longest-serving 21 bishops heading a diocese, he or she will qualify for a place in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

, joining the other five who qualify ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'', including the two archbishops.

List of bishops

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case the ...

s in the diocese have been: *1964–1968: Gething Caulton, former

Bishop of Melanesia The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Church of the Province of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inaugu ...

and Assistant Bishop of Auckland *1968–1972 (d.): John Boys, former

Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman The Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and encompasses the area around Kimberley and Kuruman and overlaps the Northern Cape Province and North West Province of South Africa. It is presided ove ...

*19671971 (ret.): Lawrence Barham, Minister of Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon and former Bishop of Rwanda and Burundi. Edward Lawrence Barham (25 June 19015 June 1973) was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

and

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under milita ...

. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

; and trained for the ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He was made deacon on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the ...

1925 (7 June) and ordained priest the following Trinity Sunday (30 May 1926) — both times by Cyril Garbett, Bishop of Southwark, at

. After his curacy in

Hatcham Hatcham was a manor and later a chapelry in what is now London, England. It largely corresponds to the area around New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ancient parish of Deptford straddled the counties of Surrey and Kent and there c ...

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

(1925–28), he went as a missionary of the

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

, first to Uganda until 1938, then to Ruanda-Urundi, 1938–57. He was additionally made a Canon of the Diocese of Uganda, 1939; and appointed Archdeacon of Nkore-Kigezi (in the same diocese), 1957–59. Returning to England, he served as General Secretary of the CMS Ruanda Mission until his appointment as Bishop of Rwanda and Burundi in 1964. He was consecrated a bishop on 8 March 1964, by Leslie Brown,

Archbishop of Uganda The Anglican ecclesiastical province of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was formed in 1961 following the division of the diocese of Uganda the previous year. Prior to 1980, the province included Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga, in what was then the co ...

and Bishop of Namirembe, at

Namirembe Cathedral Saint Paul's Cathedral Namirembe, commonly referred to as Namirembe Cathedral, is the oldest cathedral in Uganda. It serves as the provincial cathedral of the Anglican Church of Uganda and the diocesan cathedral for Namirembe Diocese, the first d ...

; and served until 1966, when he resigned and returned to London in 1966. *19741975: Br John-Charles SSF, former Assistant Bishop of Adelaide and

Bishop of Polynesia The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's ...

*19751987 (ret.):

Edward Knapp-Fisher Edward George Knapp-Fisher (8 January 19157 February 2003) was an Anglican bishop and scholar. Life Knapp-Fisher was born in Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom. His father was also an Anglican priest. He was educated at The King's School, Worces ...

, Canon and

Archdeacon of Westminster The Archdeacon of Westminster is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Chapter of the Royal Peculiar of Westminster Abbey in London. The holder of the post oversees relationships with the twenty-four parishes of which the Dean and Chapter ar ...

, Sub-

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbu ...

(from 1982) and former

Bishop of Pretoria The Diocese of Pretoria is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It is divided into seven archdeaconries and has 61 parishes. History The diocese originally covered the whole of the South African Republic, which later became the T ...

References

External links

Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings
{{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

Bishops of Southwark A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...